July 9, 2010

Indiana corn continues to face problems

As Indiana corn continues to move through pollination, heat stress is also taking its toll on some fields.

The corn in Northeast Indiana is in the middle of pollination but all is not going well, says Joe Caffee, who farms in Adams County. "We have corn that is eight feet tall and corn that is two feet tall, which will cause problems down the road because of mixed pollination in the fields," Caffee says.

The excessive moisture this spring resulted in shallow rooted plants that are now struggling with the heat of July. Caffee said some of the crop is showing signs of heat stress. The USDA condition rating on the Indiana corn crop has declined for the past two weeks.

According to Caffee, nitrogen application was a problem. Since then, growers have found a way to get nitrogen on the crop - the elevator come and put dry urea on our corn while some of our neighbours used spraying over the top or flying nitrogen on. While there are definitely problems, overall the crop is in good shape, according to USDA figures. While silking was at or on a near-normal pace in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska, above average temperatures coupled with adequate soil moisture levels in recent weeks had pushed progress to 27 and 23 percentage points ahead of normal in Illinois and Indiana, respectively.

As for soy, it has not been easy getting this crop planted. He said some others in the area have decided to take the prevented planting option under crop insurance and leave the crop in the bag.

Caffee said wheat acreage was down sharply and yields were poor. In addition, poor test weight and disease made this harvest a very poor one for many farmers in the area.